Methods, Systems, And Computer Program Products For Determining Availability Of Presentable Content Via A Subscription Service

ABSTRACT

Methods, systems, and computer program products for determining availability of presentable content via a subscription service are disclosed. According to one aspect, a method includes receiving an indication of first presentable content associated with a first subscription service. Metadata associated with the selected first presentable content is received. Based on the received metadata, it is determined whether second presentable content corresponding to the first presentable content is available from a second subscription service. Further, and indication is provided that the second presentable content is available.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present invention is related to co-pending U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/607,221, entitled “METHODS, SYSTEMS, AND COMPUTER PROGRAMPRODUCTS FOR DETERMINING AVAILABILITY OF PRESENTABLE CONTENT VIA ASUBSCRIPTION SERVICE” (Attorney Docket No. 1433), filed concurrently andcommonly owned with the present application and herein incorporated byreference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The subject matter described herein relates to subscription services forpresentable content. More particularly, the subject matter describedherein relates to methods, systems, and computer program products fordetermining availability of presentable content via subscriptionservices.

BACKGROUND

Many electronic devices provide a feature of presenting content to auser. Examples of suitable electronic devices for presenting presentablecontent include a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), anetwork component, a television, a computer, and a device configured toimplement a web portal. The electronic device may present the content tothe user via a user interface. Content capable of being presented via anelectronic device is referred to herein as presentable content. Examplesof presentable content include video content, graphical content, audiocontent, text content, and any combination of these types of content.For example, video content may be presented via a display and one ormore speakers. Audio content may be presented via one or more speakers.Text content may be presented via a display. The presentable content maybe streamed to the electronic device and/or stored on the electronicdevice for presentation when selected by a user.

Presentable content may be provided to an electronic device by asubscription service. For example, a cable television subscriptionservice may provide video and music content to a subscriber'stelevision. In another example, a satellite-based music subscriptionservice may provide music content to a subscriber's satellite radioreceiver. In yet another example, an Internet-based music subscriptionservice may provide musical content to a subscriber's computer fordownload to a portable media player. Further, a user may have more thanone electronic device by which presentable content may be presented andreceived from different subscription services.

A user will often have a subscription to more than one subscriptionservice and may own multiple different presentation devices. The usermay obtain presentable content for one device and may desire to obtainthe same or related content for presentation via another device. Thesame or related content that is desired to be obtained may be availablethrough a different subscription service from the original content. Forexample, a user may be watching a music video provided via a cabletelevision subscription service. In this example, the user may desire todetermine whether music content associated with the music video isavailable via an Internet-based music subscription service for use on aportable media player. In order to determine the availability of themusic content, the user must determine the title of the music in themusic video and manually use searching features of the Internet-basedmusic subscription service to find the music content. Further, the usermay have to determine the compatibility of the portable media playerwith the music content available from the Internet-based musicsubscription service. It would be beneficial to provide for a user toconveniently select presentable content and automatically receiveinformation regarding the availability of the presentable content at asubscription service. Further, it would be beneficial to provide for theautomated and convenient communication of the presentable content to theelectronic device.

Accordingly, in light of the above described difficulties and needs,there exists a need for improved methods, systems, and computer programproducts for determining availability of presentable content via asubscription service.

SUMMARY

According to one aspect, the subject matter described herein includesmethods, systems, and computer program products for determiningavailability of presentable content via a subscription service. Onemethod includes receiving a selection of first presentable contentassociated with a first subscription service. Metadata associated withthe selected first presentable content is received. Based on thereceived metadata, it is determined whether second presentable contentcorresponding to the first presentable content is available from asecond subscription service. Further, it is indicated whether the secondpresentable content is available for presentation via the secondsubscription service.

According to another aspect, a system is described for determiningavailability of presentable content via a subscription service. Theexemplary system includes a subscription server configured to receive aselection of first presentable content associated with a firstsubscription service. The system also includes a subscription servicemanager configured to receive metadata associated with the selectedfirst presentable content, configured to determine, based on thereceived metadata, whether second presentable content corresponding tothe first presentable content is available from a second subscriptionservice, and configured to indicate whether the second presentablecontent is available for presentation via the second subscriptionservice.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred embodiments of the subject matter described herein will now beexplained with reference to the accompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 a block diagram of an exemplary system for determiningavailability of presentable content via a subscription service accordingto an embodiment of the subject matter described herein;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of an exemplary process for determiningavailability of presentable content via a subscription service accordingto an embodiment of the subject matter described herein; and

FIGS. 3A and 3B are a flow chart of an exemplary process for use by thesystem shown in FIG. 1 for determining availability of presentablecontent via a subscription service according to an embodiment of thesubject matter described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The subject matter described herein includes methods, systems, andcomputer program products for determining availability of presentablecontent via a subscription service. According to one aspect, a systemaccording to the subject matter described herein may be implemented ashardware, software, and/or firmware components executing on one or morecomponents of a system or device configured to present presentablecontent.

As stated above, the term “presentable content” refers to any suitablecontent capable of being presented to a user via an electronic device.In one example, presentable content may include video content. Examplesof video content include all or a portion of a movie, a televisionprogram, a video game, and a home movie. In another example, presentablecontent may include audio content. Examples of audio content includemusic and a voice recording. In yet another example, presentable contentmay include text content. Examples of text content include a textmessage, a text window displayed on a display, a word processingdocument, and text of a web page document.

As used herein, the term “subscription service” refers to a serviceoperable to provide presentable content to a subscriber. Examples ofsubscription services include a music subscription service, anInternet-based subscription service, a television subscription service,and a satellite-based subscription service.

A subscription service may provide presentable content to a subscribervia any suitable communications technique. For example, presentablecontent may be made available via a network, such as the Internet, awide area network (WAN), a local area network (LAN), a wirelesscommunications network, and a wired communications network.

As used herein, the term “metadata” refers to any suitable dataassociated with presentable content. Examples of metadata include atitle of presentable content, a name of a performer associated withpresentable content, a name of a creator associated with presentablecontent, a channel identifier associated with presentable content, atime associated with presentable content, a format associated withpresentable content, a frame identifier associated with presentablecontent, and a content type associated with presentable content.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary system 100 for determiningavailability of presentable content via a subscription service accordingto an embodiment of the subject matter described herein. Referring toFIG. 1, system 100 includes subscription server 108 configured toreceive a selection of first presentable content associated with a firstsubscription service. For example, subscription server 108 can includecommunication circuitry for receiving the selection of first presentablecontent associated with the first subscription service from contentdevices 102 and 104. Content devices 102 and 104 can include userinterfaces 107 configured to present presentable content to user 106.Each user interface 107 includes one or more components for interfacingwith user 106. For example, user interface 107 may include a displayand/or a speaker for presenting presentable content to user 106. Inanother example, user interface 107 may include a keyboard/keypad, amouse, and/or a touchscreen for receiving input from user 106, such asthe selection of first presentable content. Content devices 102 and 104also include communication circuitry configured to send the selectionvia network 116 to subscription server 108, where the selection of thefirst presentable content associated with the first subscription serviceis received and further processed as described below. Devices 102 and104 may each be any suitable electronic device, such as a mobile phone,a PDA, a network component, a television, a computer, or a deviceconfigured to implement a web portal.

Subscription server 108 is configured to receive presentable contentfrom a subscription service for presentation to user 106 by one ofpresentable content devices 102 and 104. In particular, user 106 has asubscription to first and second subscription services 110 and 112 forreceiving presentable content. For example, first subscription service110 may be a cable television subscription service. In this example,user 106 may be subscribed to several television channels provided byfirst subscription service 110. In another example, second subscriptionservice 112 may be an Internet-based music subscription service. In thisexample, user 106 can be subscribed to music made available by service112. Another example of a subscription service may be a satellite-basedsubscription service, such as a satellite radio or satellite televisionsubscription service. Although shown as separate services, subscriptionservices 110 and 112 can be hosted by subscription server 108 withoutdeparting from the subject matter described here.

Presentable content made available by first and second subscriptionservices 110 and 112 is communicated to subscription server 108 via anetwork 114 for distribution to one or more of devices 102 and 104 vianetwork 116. Alternatively, presentable content is made available todevices 102 and 104 and/or subscription server 108 via separatenetworks. Examples of presentable content include video content, audiocontent, graphical content, and text content. Examples of presentablecontent formats can include MPEG2 format, MPEG3 format, advanced audiocoding (AAC) format, windows media audio (WMA) format, waveform audioformat (WAV), and motion-JPEG format.

Subscription server 108 includes a subscription service manager 118configured to register and classify first and second subscriptionservices 110 and 112. Subscription service manager 118 associates asubscription service with one of subscription service identifiers 120,which enable the coordination of communications between systemcomponents and the storage of data collected during subscription servicemanagement processes. A subscription service management database 122stores information associated with subscription services for use indetermining availability of presentable content at a subscriptionservice. Although shown as a separate entity, it will be understood thatdatabase 122 can be included in subscription server 108. The data storedin database 122 and associated with a subscription service is accessedby use of a respective subscription service identifier 120. Asubscription service is registered with subscription service manager118. When a subscription service is registered with manager 118,database 122 stores metadata elements associated with the subscriptionservice. It should be understood that although subscription servicemanager 118 is depicted as being included in subscription server 108 inFIG. 1, the functionality of subscription service manager 118 can beintegrated within content devices 102 and/or 104, or can be integratedwithin a server hosting subscription services 110 and 112, withoutdeparting from the scope of the subject matter describe here.

As set forth above, presentable content is presented to user 106 via oneof devices 102 and 104. User 106 may desire to obtain the samepresentable content and/or related presentable content for use on theother of devices 102 and 104. For example, device 102 may present firstpresentable content 124 to user 106. First presentable content 124 isassociated with first subscription service 110. User 106 may desire tohave the same presentable content and/or related presentable contentavailable on device 104. Further, user 106 may desire to determine theavailability of the same presentable content and/or related presentablecontent from second subscription service 112. In order to determine theavailability of the same or related presentable content at secondsubscription service 112, user 106 enters selection of first presentablecontent 124 via user interface 107 of device 102.

System 100 includes means for receiving a selection of first presentablecontent 124 associated with first subscription service 110. For example,subscription server 108 may receive the selection as described above inconjunction with FIG. 1. Further, system 100 includes means forreceiving metadata associated with the selected first presentablecontent 124. For example, in response to receiving the selection,subscription service manager 118 is configured to receive metadataassociated with the selected first presentable content 124.

System 100 includes means for determining, based on the receivedmetadata, whether second presentable content corresponding to firstpresentable content 124 is available from second subscription service112. For example, based on the retrieved metadata, subscription servicemanager 118 determines whether second presentable content correspondingto first presentable content 124 is available from second subscriptionservice 112. Further, system 100 includes means for indicating whetherthe second presentable content is available for presentation via secondsubscription service 112. For example, subscription server 108communicates with device 104 such that user interface 107 of device 107indicates whether the second presentable content is available forpresentation via second subscription service 112. User 106 selects toreceive the second presentable content, and, in response to theselection, second presentable content 126 is communicated to device 104for presentation to user 106.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary process for determiningavailability of presentable content via a subscription service accordingto an embodiment of the subject matter described herein. Referring toFIG. 2, in block 200 the process provides for receiving selection offirst presentable content with a first subscription service. Forexample, as described above, subscription server 108 can includecommunication circuitry for receiving the selection of first presentablecontent 124 associated with the first subscription service 110 fromcontent device 102. User 106 enters the selection of first presentablecontent 124 via user interface 107 of device 102. Content device 102includes communication circuitry configured to send the selection vianetwork 116 to subscription server 108, where the selection of the firstpresentable content associated with the first subscription service isreceived and further processed. First presentable content 124 is madeavailable to device 102 from first subscription service 110, e.g., viasubscription server 108. The selection of first presentable content 124may be before, during, or after presentation of first presentablecontent 124 to user 106 via user interface 107. In one example, inresponse to the selection of first presentable content 124, device 102may communicate metadata associated with first presentable content 124to subscription service manager 118 via network 116. In another example,metadata associated with first presentable content 124 may be stored bymanager 118 as first presentable content 124 is communicated from firstsubscription service 110, through subscription server 108, and to device102.

In block 202, metadata associated with the selected first presentablecontent is received by manager 118. Examples of metadata received bysubscription service manager 118 includes a title of first presentablecontent 124, a name of a performer associated with first presentablecontent 124, a name of a creator associated with first presentablecontent 124, a channel identifier associated with first presentablecontent 124, a time associated with first presentable content 124, aformat associated with first presentable content 124, a frame identifierassociated with first presentable content 124, and a content typeassociated with first presentable content 124. As set forth above, themetadata is received from device 102 and/or first subscription service110.

Based on the received metadata, subscription service manager 118determines whether second presentable content corresponding to firstpresentable content is available from second subscription service 112(block 204). For example, subscription service manager 118 may searchpresentable content associated with second subscription service 112 forthe second presentable content based on the metadata. In this example,the search of presentable content associated with second subscriptionservice 112 may include searching metadata associated with thepresentable content for a match to the received metadata. The secondpresentable content may include presentable content associated with thematching metadata.

In block 206, an indication whether the second presentable content isavailable for presentation via second subscription service 112 isprovided. The indication may be one or more of providing a visualindication, an auditory indication, and a physical indication of theavailability of the second presentable content. For example, ifpresentable content corresponding to first presentable content isdetermined to be available, the presentable content may be communicatedto device 104, e.g., via subscription server 108 or second subscriptionservice 112, is stored at device 104 as second presentable content 126,and the availability of second presentable content 126 presented to user106. In another example, an indication of the availability of secondpresentable content 126 at second subscription service 112 may beprovided to user 106 via user interface 107 of device 104. In oneexample, subscription service manager 118 may instruct user interface ofdevice 104 to present the indication of availability of secondpresentable content 126 by controlling a display to display a textmessage indicating the availability of second presentable content 126.In another example, the indication of availability of second presentablecontent 126 may be presented by storing an indication of theavailability of second presentable content 126 in a memory associatedwith device 104. In this example, user 106 may use user interface 107 ofdevice 104 to access the memory and to display information regarding thecontents of memory for receiving notification of the availability ofsecond presentable content 126. In another example, the indication ofavailability of second presentable content 126 may be presented bychanging an attribute of a display of user interface 107. In yet anotherexample, the indication of availability of second presentable content126 may be presented by activating an indicator light of a display ofuser interface 107. In another example, the indication of availabilityof second presentable content 126 may be presented by vibrating ahousing of device 104 via an electromechanical device. User 106 mayoperate device 104 for presenting second presentable content 126 viauser interface 107 of device 104.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are a flow chart illustrating an exemplary process foruse by system 100 shown in FIG. 1 for determining availability ofpresentable content at a subscription service according to an embodimentof the subject matter described herein. Referring to FIG. 3A, in block300 the process provides for presenting first presentable content 124 touser 106 via device 102. In one example, first presentable content 124may be streamed to device 102 from a server of first subscriptionservice 110 for presentation to user 106. In another example, firstpresentable content 124 may be downloaded from first subscriptionservice 110, stored for a period of time, and selected by user 106 forpresentation via device 102. User 106 is subscribed to first and secondsubscription services 110 and 112. First and second subscriptionservices 110 and 112 delivers presentable content to devices 102 and 104by the same or different communications systems. Examples of deliveringpresentable content to device 102 from first and/or second subscriptionservices 110 and 112 include providing presentable content viasatellite-based communications, providing presentable content via theInternet, and providing presentable content via cable-television-basedcommunications.

In block 302, device 102 receives a selection of first presentablecontent 124. User 106 selects first presentable content 124 fordetermining the availability of presentable content at secondsubscription service 112 that is the same and/or related to firstpresentable content 124. In one example of selecting first presentablecontent 124, user 106 may initialize a presentable content selection inrelation to first subscription service 110. The presentable contentselection is the identification of the particular presentable contentthat user 106 wants to make available via second subscription service112. A presentable content selection is initialized by user 106interacting with user interface 107 of device 102 or a client of firstsubscription service 110. In one example, the selection of firstpresentable content 124 may be made by pressing a button on a remotecontrol. In another example, the selection may be made by interactingwith device 102 by speech input. Selection of first presentable content124 may occur before presentation of content 124, during presentation ofcontent 124, or after presentation of content 124.

Device 102 includes a plugin application 128 configured to execute apresentable content selection. Device 104 includes a plugin application128 for selection of presentable content. Plugin application 128 isassociated with a respective one of devices 102 and 104 that thepresentable content selection is initiated upon. In one example, pluginapplication 128 may be part of a subscription service client. In anotherexample, plugin application 128 may be part of an operating system of arespective one of devices 102 and 104 used specifically for asubscription service. In another example, plugin application 128 may bea daemon configured to await and act upon presentable content selectioncommands. Plugin application 128 enables the conversion of a user'saction of selecting presentable content into a presentable contentrequest that is communicated to and parsed by subscription server 108.

In block 304, device 102 communicates a presentable content request tosubscription service manager 118. For example, on initialization of apresentable content selection, plugin application 128 may collectinformation for communication to subscription server 108 as apresentable content request. In one example, the collected informationmay include a time of the presentable content selection and asubscription service identifier. In this example, the subscriptionservice identifier may identify first subscription service 110.

The presentable content request functions to request from firstsubscription service 110 additional data about first presentable content124 and functions to command second subscription service 112 todetermine the availability of presentable content related to firstpresentable content 124. As stated above, the presentable contentselection is communicated to subscription service manager 118. In thisexample, the request may be communicated to subscription service manager118 residing in subscription server 108 remote to device 102. In anotherexample, subscription service manager 118 may be resident on device 102.In another example, subscription service manager 118 may be resident ona component of network 116. In yet another example, subscription servicemanager 118 may be resident on a remote control (e.g., a television ormusic player remote control) for one of devices 102 and 104.

In block 306, subscription service manager 118 communicates asubscription service presentable content query to first subscriptionservice 110 for requesting metadata associated with the selected firstpresentable content 124. For example, subscription service manager 118may generate the subscription service presentable content query based onthe time of the presentable content selection and the subscriptionservice identifier indicated by the presentable content request. Eachsubscription service presentable content query is assigned an identifierand data collected via this query is stored in database 122 for use incoordinating the processes associated with retrieving metadataassociated with the selected first presentable content 124.

The metadata requested by a subscription service presentable contentquery is based upon the selected presentable content. For example,different metadata elements may be requested based on a type of theselected presentable content. In one example, the query may be differentfor a music video and a television program. For example, a music videomay include metadata fields such as artist, song title, and album title.In another example, a television program may include metadata fieldssuch as actor, actress, and episode number.

Subscription service manager 118 executes the subscription servicepresentable content query against first subscription service 110 toreceive metadata associated with the selected first presentable content124 (block 308). Metadata is received via a stream of presentablecontent. For example, television broadcast signals or online musicservice streams may include metadata. In this example, manager 118 maycontrol subscription server 108 to extract metadata from a streamcorresponding to first presentable content 124. In one example, metadatamay be extracted during selection of presentable content and/or during asubscription service presentable content query. For example, metadataassociated with presentable content of a television subscription servicemay be available to subscription server 108. Table 1 below showsexemplary metadata associated with presentable content and madeavailable to subscription server 108 from a television subscriptionservice. The metadata illustrated in Table 1 may be displayable via adisplay in the format shown in Table 1 or in an alternate format thatconveys the same information.

TABLE 1 Exemplary Metadata Associated with Presentable Content of aTelevision Subscription Service Time of Presentation of PresentableContent Channel 7:00 pm-8:00 pm 8:00 pm-9:00 pm BET <106 & 52 Park: . .. TVPG, CC MTV Direct Effect TVPG 53 WAUGDT Great Performances 102OVATION Suit: The Transatlantic 125 Spirit . . . Sessions TVPG TVPGBLKFAM Great Performances 129 BETJ Soul Sessions 130 GAC < MainstreetMusic Videos GAC Nights Grand Ole 131 Opry Live MTV2 Greatest Hits 132FUSE Steven's Untitled Rock F List F List 133 Show TVPG TVPG TVPG VH1CLClassic in Concert 100 Greatest Artists of Hard 134 Rock

In Table 1, the metadata includes channel identifier, program title,rating, and time. User 106 operates user interface 107 of device 102 toselect one of presentable content shown in Table 1. For example, user106 may select the program titled “100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock” onchannel VH1CL. The program may be selected during presentation of theprogram. The selection of this program may include the program title,the time of the selection, and the subscription identifier associatedwith the television subscription service. The metadata shown in Table 1may be available in a stream of first presentable content 124.

Table 2 below shows exemplary metadata associated with first presentablecontent 124 that is available by request from first subscription service110.

TABLE 2 Exemplary Metadata Associated with First Presentable Content8:00 pm-9:00 pm Channel 8:01-8:16 8:17-8:23 8:24-8:46 8:47-8:59 VH1CLSong1 Song2 Song3 Song4 134 Content Content Type: Content Type: ContentType: Type: Artists: Artists: Artists: Artists: Song: Song: Song: Song:Album: Album: Album: Album: Format: Format: Format: Format: ReleaseRelease Release Release Date: Date: Date: Date:

The metadata in Table 2 represents exemplary metadata received bymanager 118 on selection of the program titled “100 Greatest Artists ofHard Rock” on channel VH1CL. Four different songs are associated withthe selection. The metadata is organized by time periods in which thedifferent songs are presented. Each time period is associated with asong type, a content type, an artist name, a song name, an album name, aformat type, and a release date corresponding to the song beingpresented. In one example, manager 118 may receive the metadata shown inTable 2 and extract only the metadata associated with a time ofselection of first presentable content 124.

Subscription service manager 118 generates a subscription servicepresentable content query and communicate the query to firstsubscription service 110 to obtain the metadata. The query is generatedbased on a type of subscription service. For example, manager 118 maygenerate the query based on the query language that first subscriptionservice 110 uses to deliver first presentable content 124.

In block 310, manager 118 stores the received metadata in database 122.For example, manager 118 may store the metadata shown in Tables 1 and 2above in database 122. In one example, referring to the example of Table2, if a selection was made at 8:20, manager 118 may extract the metadataassociated with the time period of 8:17-8:23 for use in searchingpresentable content associated with second subscription service 112 forrelated presentable content. In particular, manager 118 uses the songtitle associated with the time period of 8:17-8:23 for searchingpresentable content available from second subscription service 112 forrelated presentable content. If matching or similar presentable contentis found in the search, the presentable content is deemed as secondpresentable content 112.

In block 312, manager 118 generates a presentable content match requestand communicate the request to second subscription service 112 forsearching the presentable content of second subscription service 112 formatching or related presentable content. For example, if metadata valuescollected during a subscription service presentable content queryidentify an artist and song title, the artist and song title values maybe included in the query for use in searching the presentable content ofsecond subscription service 112 for matching or related presentablecontent. Second subscription service 112 searches its database ofpresentable content based on the query (block 314). For example,metadata values associated with presentable content of secondsubscription service 112 may be compared against the artist and songtitle values for finding a matching metadata value or similar metadatavalue.

Second subscription service 112 returns search results to subscriptionservice manager 118. In one example, the search results may indicatethat no presentable content was found that has matching or similarmetadata. In another example, the search results may include thepresentable content having the matching or similar metadata. In thisexample, the presentable content may be deemed second presentablecontent 126 and stored in database 122 or forwarded to device 104. Inyet another example, the search results may identify the presentablecontent having matching or similar metadata that is available at secondsubscription service 112. It may be determined that second subscriptionservice 112 has presentable content corresponding to first presentablecontent 124 when the search results include the presentable contenthaving the matching or similar metadata or when the search resultsidentify presentable content having matching or similar metadata.

Referring to FIG. 3B, manager 118 provides an indication whetherpresentable content corresponding to first presentable content 124 isavailable via second subscription service 112 (block 318). Manager 118instructs device 104 to provide one or more of a visual indication, anauditory indication, and a physical indication of the availability ofthe presentable content via second subscription service 112. Manager 118generates a message indicating the availability and communicate themessage to device 104. Plugin application 128 of device 104 receives themessage and, in response to the message, provide the indication whetherthe presentable content is available. In one example, second presentablecontent 126 may be communicated to device 104. In another example, whenuser 106 next interfaces with device 104, a message may be displayedthat indicates the availability of the presentable content at secondsubscription service 112 and that provides instructions for accessingthe presentable content. In another example of indicating theavailability of the presentable content, subscription server 108 maycommunicate the results of the presentable content match request in atext message to the user's preferred client (e.g., instant message (IM)client, e-mail client, and short message service (SMS) client). Inanother example, information indicating the availability may be storedin a folder managed by plugin application 128 of device 104.

In block 320, device 104 operates to present second presentable content126 to user 106 via user interface 107 of device 104. For example, inresponse to receiving an indication of the availability of secondpresentable content 126, user 106 may select displayed indicia (e.g., adisplayed icon) corresponding to the second presentable content 126. Inone example, in response to the selection, second presentable content126 stored at device 104 may be presented via user interface 107 ofdevice 104. In another example, in response to the selection, secondpresentable content 126 stored at database 122 may be accessed andcommunicated to device 104 for presentation via user interface 107. Inyet another example, in response to the selection, second presentablecontent 126 may be retrieved from second subscription service 112 forpresentation via user interface 107 of device 104.

In the examples described above, metadata of first presentable content124 is used in a search for matching or similar second presentablecontent 126 via second subscription service 112. In an alternativeembodiment, samples of first presentable content 124 may be used in asearch for matching or similar second presentable content 126 at secondsubscription service 112. In one example, one or more samples of theselected first presentable content 124 may be obtained by device 102 andcommunicated to subscription service manager 118. Manager 118 generatesa presentable content match request including the sample and communicatethe request to second subscription service 112 for searching thepresentable content of second subscription service 112 for presentablecontent having a matching or similar sample. In one example, a samplemay be a frame of a video. In another example, a sample may include aframe number associated with a video. The sample is also combined withmetadata values of first presentable content 124 for use in searchingthe presentable content of second subscription service 112 forpresentable content having a matching or similar sample. Further, user106 is asked to provide more detailed information for use in the search.The information provided by user 106 is combined with the sample and/ormetadata for use in the search of first subscription service 112.

A user selects a sample of presentable content but be interestedreceiving content related to a larger portion of the presentable contentthan the selected sample. For example, a user may select a frame of avideo being presented on a television. In this example, the user may beinterested in a scene of a television program associated with theselected frame. In another example, the user may be interested in theentirety of the television program associated with the selected frame. Asubscription service manager is configured to identify all segments ofthe presentable content that include the selection and present thesegments to the user for selection. For example, identification of ascene or the entirety of the television program may be presented to theuser for selection. The user may select the identified scene or theentirety of the television program for use in determining whetherrelated presentable content is available via a subscription service. Theselection is used by a subscription service manager for forming thesubscription service presentable content query.

In the examples described above, a subscription service manager selectsa subscription service to search for corresponding presentable contentbased on a compatibility of the subscription service with metadataelements of the selected presentable content. The subscription serviceis selected from among a plurality of subscription services bydetermining the compatibility of the subscription services with aplurality of elements of the metadata. For example, the metadataelements may indicate a format type, and the subscription service isselected based on its compatibility with the format type.

In one example, the metadata elements may be organized in apredetermined hierarchical order. In this example, a subscriptionservice may be selected based on whether it is compatible with themetadata elements in accordance with the predetermined hierarchicalorder. For example, a content type of the presentable content may be thehighest ranked metadata element in the predetermined hierarchical order.There are more than one subscription service that is compatible with thecontent type of the presentable content. In this case, a next rankedmetadata element is compared to the subscription services that arecompatible with the content type. In some cases, for example, thecontent type of second subscription service 112 may not match thecontent type of first presentable content 124. Subscription servicemanager 118 stores information regarding the relationships betweensubscription services that are related. For example, a Rhapsody clientdevice may play music and videos. In contrast, for example, a radio mayonly play music. The Rhapsody client device and the radio are related tothe key metadata elements of a music video even though the match is notexact. Manager 118 stores information indicating that the Rhapsodyclient device and the radio are related in that both play music. Such arelationship may not be made between a washer or dryer and a Rhapsodyclient device, because the washer or dryer does not play music. After acompatible subscription service has been identified, the identifiedsubscription service is searched for determining whether relatedpresentable content is available at the subscription service. Forexample, second subscription service 112 may be queried based on contenttype associated with service 112 and metadata values of firstpresentable content 124.

In some of the examples described above, metadata is received from asubscription service in response to executing a subscription servicepresentable content query against the subscription service. The receivedmetadata is stored in a database associated with a subscription servicemanager. In one example, the received metadata may be stored at thedatabase and used in subsequent requests for metadata associated withselected presentable content. If the search of the database does notresult in metadata associated with selected presentable content, thesubscription service presentable content query is sent to thesubscription service. This process may be advantageous, for example,because it can reduce communications to the subscription service.

The subject matter described herein may be implemented using a computerreadable medium containing a computer program, executable by a machine,such as a computer. Exemplary computer readable media suitable forimplementing the subject matter described herein include chip memorydevices, disk memory devices, programmable logic devices, applicationspecific integrated circuits, and downloadable electrical signals. Inaddition, a computer-readable medium that implements the subject matterdescribed herein may be located on a single device or computing platformor may be distributed across multiple devices or computing platforms.

As used here, a “computer readable medium” can be any means that cancontain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport the computerprogram for use by or in connection with the instruction executionmachine, system, apparatus, or device. The computer readable medium canbe, for example, but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical,electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor machine, system, apparatus,device, or propagation medium.

More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readablemedium can include the following: a wired network connection andassociated transmission medium, such as an ETHERNET transmission system,a wireless network connection and associated transmission medium, suchas an IEEE 802.11(a), (b), or (g) or a BLUETOOTH transmission system, awide-area network (WAN), a local-area network (LAN), the Internet, anintranet, a portable computer diskette, a random access memory (RAM), aread only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc (CD), aportable digital video disc (DVD), and the like.

The executable instructions of a computer program for carrying out themethods illustrated in FIGS. 2, 3A, and 3B can be embodied in anymachine or computer readable medium for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution machine, system, apparatus, or device, such as acomputer-based or processor-containing machine, system, apparatus, ordevice, that can read or fetch the instructions from the machine orcomputer readable medium and execute the instructions.

It will be understood that various details of the subject matterdescribed herein may be changed without departing from the scope of thesubject matter described herein. Furthermore, the foregoing descriptionis for the purpose of illustration only, and not for the purpose oflimitation, as the subject matter described herein is defined by theclaims as set forth hereinafter.

1. A method for determining availability of presentable content via asubscription service, the method comprising: receiving an identificationof first presentable content associated with a first subscriptionservice, the first presentable content having a first type; receivingmetadata associated with the selected first presentable content;determining, based on the received metadata, whether second presentablecontent corresponding to the first presentable content is available froma second subscription service, the second presentable content having asecond type different from the first type; and providing an indicationthat the second presentable content from the second subscription serviceis available.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving anidentification of first presentable content includes receiving aselection of at least one of video content, graphical content, audiocontent, and text content.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving anidentification of first presentable content includes receiving aselection of the first presentable content during presentation of thefirst presentable content.
 4. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving anidentification of first presentable content includes receiving aselection of the first presentable content in at least one of MPEG 2format, MPEG 3 format, advanced audio coding (AAC) format, windows mediaaudio (WMA) format, waveform audio format (WAV), and motion-JPEG format.5. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving an identification of firstpresentable content associated with a first subscription serviceincludes receiving a selection of the first presentable contentassociated with at least one of a music subscription service, anInternet-based subscription service, a television subscription service,and a satellite-based subscription service.
 6. The method of claim 1wherein receiving metadata associated with the selected firstpresentable content includes receiving at least one of a title of thefirst presentable content, a name of a performer associated with thefirst presentable content, a name of a creator associated with the firstpresentable content, a channel identifier associated with the firstpresentable content, a time associated with the first presentablecontent, a format of the first presentable content, a frame identifierassociated with the first presentable content, and a content typeassociated with the first presentable content.
 7. The method of claim 1wherein determining whether second presentable content corresponding tothe first presentable content is available from a second subscriptionservice includes searching, based on the received metadata, presentablecontent associated with the second subscription service for the secondpresentable content.
 8. The method of claim 7 wherein searchingpresentable content associated with the second subscription serviceincludes searching metadata associated with the presentable content fora match to the received metadata.
 9. The method of claim 1 whereinproviding an indication that the second presentable content is availableincludes instructing at least one electronic device to provide at leastone of a visual indication, an auditory indication, and a physicalindication of the availability of the second presentable content. 10.The method of claim 9 wherein instructing at least one electronic deviceto provide a visual indication includes instructing the at least oneelectronic device to at least one of display a text message forpresenting the second presentable content, change an attribute of thedisplay, and activate an indicator light.
 11. The method of claim 9wherein instructing at least one electronic device to provide a physicalindication includes instructing the at least one electronic device tovibrate a housing for the at least one electronic device.
 12. The methodof claim 1 comprising receiving a sample of the first presentablecontent, and wherein determining whether second presentable contentcorresponding to the first presentable content is available from asecond subscription service includes determining whether the secondpresentable content is available from the second subscription servicebased on the received sample of the first presentable content.
 13. Themethod of claim 1 wherein the metadata includes a plurality of metadataelements and wherein the method comprises selecting the secondsubscription service from a plurality of subscription services based oncompatibility of one of the subscription services with the metadataelements.
 14. The method of claim 13 wherein the metadata elements areorganized in a predetermined hierarchical order and wherein selectingthe second subscription service from a plurality of subscriptionservices includes determining whether one of the subscription servicesis compatible with the metadata elements in accordance with thepredetermined hierarchical order.
 15. The method of claim 14 whereinselecting the second subscription service from a plurality ofsubscription services based on compatibility of one of the subscriptionservices with the metadata elements includes selecting the secondsubscription service from the subscription services based on a contenttype associated with the first presentable content.
 16. A system fordetermining availability of presentable content via a subscriptionservice, the system comprising: a subscription server configured toreceive an identification of first presentable content associated with afirst subscription service, the first presentable content having a firsttype; and a subscription service manager configured to receive metadataassociated with the selected first presentable content, configured todetermine, based on the received metadata, whether second presentablecontent corresponding to the first presentable content is available froma second subscription service, the second presentable content having asecond type different from the first type, and configured to provide anindication that the second presentable content from the secondsubscription service is available.
 17. The system of claim 16 whereinthe subscription server is configured to receive a selection of at leastone of video content, graphical content, audio content, and textcontent.
 18. The system of claim 16 wherein the subscription server isconfigured to receive a selection of the first presentable contentduring presentation of the first presentable content.
 19. The system ofclaim 16 wherein the subscription server is configured to receive aselection of the first presentable content in at least one of MPEG 2format, MPEG 3 format, advanced audio coding (AAC) format, windows mediaaudio (WMA) format, waveform audio format (WAV), and motion-JPEG format.20. The system of claim 16 wherein the subscription server is configuredto receive a selection of the first presentable content associated withat least one of a music subscription service, an Internet-basedsubscription service, a television subscription service, and asatellite-based subscription service.
 21. The system of claim 16 whereinthe subscription server is configured to receive one of a title of thefirst presentable content, a name of a performer associated with thefirst presentable content, a name of a creator associated with the firstpresentable content, a channel identifier associated with the firstpresentable content, a time associated with the first presentablecontent, a format of the first presentable content, a frame identifierassociated with the first presentable content, and a content typeassociated with the first presentable content.
 22. The system of claim16 wherein the subscription service manager is configured to search,based on the received metadata, presentable content associated with thesecond subscription service for the second presentable content.
 23. Thesystem of claim 22 wherein the subscription service manager isconfigured to search metadata associated with the presentable contentfor a match to the received metadata.
 24. The system of claim 16 whereinthe subscription service manager is configured to instruct at least oneelectronic device to provide at least one of a visual indication, anauditory indication, and a physical indication of the availability ofthe second presentable content.
 25. The system of claim 24 wherein thesubscription service manager is configured to instruct a display to atleast one of display a text message for presenting the secondpresentable content, change an attribute of the display, and activate anindicator light.
 26. The system of claim 24 wherein the subscriptionservice manager is configured to instruct the at least one electronicdevice to vibrate a housing for indicating the availability of thesecond presentable content.
 27. The system of claim 16 wherein thesubscription service manager is configured to receive a sample of thefirst presentable content and configured to determine whether the secondpresentable content is available from the second subscription servicebased on the received sample of the first presentable content.
 28. Thesystem of claim 16 wherein the metadata includes a plurality of metadataelements and wherein the subscription service manager is configured toselect the second subscription service from a plurality of subscriptionservices based on compatibility of one of the subscription services withthe metadata elements.
 29. The system of claim 28 wherein the metadataelements are organized in a predetermined hierarchical order and whereinthe subscription service manager is configured to determine whether oneof the subscription services is compatible with the metadata elements inaccordance with the predetermined hierarchical order.
 30. The system ofclaim 29 wherein the subscription service manager is configured toselect the second subscription service from the subscription servicesbased on a content type associated with the first presentable content.31. A computer readable medium containing a computer program, executableby a machine, for determining availability of presentable content via asubscription service, the computer program comprising executableinstructions for: receiving an identification of first presentablecontent associated with a first subscription service, the firstpresentable content having a first type; receiving metadata associatedwith the selected first presentable content; determining, based on thereceived metadata, whether second presentable content corresponding tothe first presentable content is available from a second subscriptionservice, the second presentable content having a second type differentfrom the first type; and providing an indication that the secondpresentable content from the second subscription service is available.